Sponsor Spotlight: Sloane Pittman with Child Nutrition Program
Sponsor of At-Risk Afterschool, Child Care Centers and Family Child Care Homes
March 23, 2026
Sloane Pittman is CEO of Child Nutrition Program (CNP), a CACFP sponsoring organization in North Carolina. Sloane is the third generation of her family to lead CNP. Sloane’s grandmother was an active advocate for women throughout the ‘50s and the decades that followed. In the early ‘80s Sloane’s grandmother was inspired by the women who were starting their own small child care businesses and wanted to ensure they had access to resources like the CACFP. She recognized that North Carolina was underserved by CACFP and decided to open CNP to sponsor family child care homes in 1982. Sloane's mother, Vicki, took over CNP in 1989 and soon after began sponsoring centers as well as family homes.
Sloane was “raised in the CNP breakroom” while her mother was working. Whenever trainings were taking place, and providers brought in their own children, Sloane would spend her time coloring carrots and cornucopias with the other children. Throughout high school and college, Sloane worked part-time for CNP. Sloane graduated from college with a Psychology degree, which she knew would be helpful no matter what career she ended up in, and which rings true today as she uses it every day in her interactions with providers and staff. In 2009, Sloane joined CNP full-time and became CEO in 2024 after her mother retired.
Today, CNP has grown to sponsor 165 family child care homes, 210 child care centers and 60 At-risk afterschool sites across 43 counties in North Carolina. Sloane is honored that they have providers and facilities that have been with CNP since she was a child.
“It’s been really impressive to see these home providers that have now spent most of their careers involved with us doing CACFP. I really marvel at how some of the providers who have stuck with us have really grown and evolved as the program has evolved.”
Sloane is constantly amazed by the tireless hard work, compassion and dedication of her team. CNP prides itself on the level of customer service they provide to its sponsored facilities. CNPs team works hard to support their facilities and ensure that compliance does not waiver. Sloane recognizes that the CACFP is a complicated program and there might be a lot of paperwork for operators to stay in compliance, but CNP does everything they can to make sure their providers can operate the CACFP confidently and comfortably.
“I think that it is harder than ever to navigate these rules. What we bring to the table is one-on-one assistance to make sure that our providers feel confident in how they are implementing this program. We serve as the middle man that helps provide the training necessary and it makes a difference when you know that financial responsibility is shared with us, that we’re your compliance checkers.”
Despite the challenges of the program, providers remain committed to the mission of the CACFP. Sloane believes that the CACFP is crucial for providing nutrition education and access to nutritious foods at the earliest ages that create better outcomes for children as they grow. Sloane also recognizes and hears from providers that the CACFP is an integral piece of their funding puzzle.
“CACFP is just one of the threads in the fabric of funding that they’ve pieced together. It's what it actually takes to keep their operations up and running. We hear a lot that this is the piece that makes it all come together. Even when it’s hard, even when they know that we’ve given them a new paperwork hoop to jump through, they know and they continue to communicate that this is the piece that tends to hold it all together.”
It’s the conversations with providers about how the CACFP helps keep their doors open, along with the excitement they share when they learn something new or have a fresh idea for the program, that keeps Sloane motivated. On the hard days, Sloane reminds herself of the mission of the CACFP and the fact that CNP supports hundreds of small businesses and ensures that over 18,000 children receive nutritious meals.
“On my hardest of days, on my most tired of days, when we’re working till midnight and having a hard time seeing through all of the noise, that is a number that helps me shut my brain off at night and get some rest. I feel so honored that we are able to help support that many children across the state and that many providers who are serving them. That’s one of my favorite things about CACFP. The mission is the bring nutrition to children but we are also able to support small businesses too and so many that are female led.”
CNP continues to advocate for themselves, their providers and the CACFP. Sloane recently was able to read some letters sent in by their providers that moved her. It brings Sloane pride to see and hear the way CNP has been able to inspire their providers with the same level of passion that the CNP team bring the CACFP.
In North Carolina, Sloane has worked for Child Nutrition Program since 2009.